eWeek articles from August 2007

eWeek archives from August 2007

Former Dell CEO Rollins Lands at TPG Capital.(appointment of Kevin Rollins as senior advisor in Texas Pacific Group)(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Former Dell CEO Kevin Rollins, who left the company earlier this year as Michael Dell returned to the helm of his namesake company, has signed on as a senior advisor to a private investment firm. TPG Capital, which is based in Fort Worth,...

Apple Mum About Aug. 7 Event.(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... Apple public relations representatives made calls to press members July 31, inviting them to an event on the company's campus in Cupertino, Calif., Aug. 7 and promising Mac-specific announcements. No further information was available, though it...

Kenya Wants to Grab Piece of Outsourcing Pie.
August 1, 2007... NAIROBI, Aug 1 (Reuters)--Instead of Bangalore, could it be Nairobi that banking customers from rich countries talk to next year? Kenya--impeded in the call centre industry to date by poor communications links to the rest of world--is...

VMware Starts Road Show Ahead of Planned IPO.(Brief article)
August 1, 2007... BOSTON--VMware executives are holding meetings with investors this week as parent EMC Corp. prepares to take the business software maker public in a highly anticipated initial offering, a spokesman said on Tuesday. VMware could be the...

Xen and the Art of Virtualization.(Novell Inc.)(Interview)
August 1, 2007... Mike Vizard: One of the topics that is on everybody's mind these days is virtualization. Everybody's talking about it, yet I kind of feel like we're in some kind of perennial state of pilot development. What is your sense of where we are in the...

Intel Looks to 2008 for WiMax Push.(Interview)
August 1, 2007... Intel has set its sights on 2008 as the year its WiMax investment becomes a reality. Along with its two carrier partners, SprintNextel and Clearwire, the Santa Clara, Calif., chip maker will begin controlled tests of the WiMax networks and...

Collaboration over Broadband.
August 1, 2007... EVIDEOembedSWF(); Sponsored by: Collaboration over Broadband The New World Symphony is a combination of a major symphonic orchestra and post-graduate school for top musicians. Its teachers are among the world's most noted instrumentalists,...

Channel Business Still Steady.
August 1, 2007... It occurred to me recently that I haven't heard any dire prognostications about the state of channel business for quite a while. Last year at this time, quiet-but-persistent prophecies of an impending economic slowdown, which could have...

Faster Networks Mean More Security.(McAfee ASaP)(Interview)
August 1, 2007... Lisa Vaas: Could you give us just a really brief overview of what we're talking about when we're talking about enterprises moving to these new, faster 10g networks? Dave Marcus: Well, that really kind of encapsulates it. It's mainly the...

Former National Security Boss: Bush Admin Leaves Holes in Cyberspace.(president George W. Bush administration)(Black Hat security conference)
August 1, 2007... LAS VEGAS--Richard Clarke remembers standing in the Oval Office and handing President George W. Bush a letter regarding what the nation should do to secure cyberspace. "I think he signed it. I don't think he read it. I don't think he knows...

Core Security Readies Web App Security Tool.(Core Security Technologies)(applications)
August 1, 2007... Core Security Technologies is unveiling an open-source tool called Core Grasp Aug. 2, which is aimed at protecting Web applications from attack. Researchers from CoreLabs will be presenting the tool, which was created with an eye towards...

SCAP Beta Will Boost Enterprise Compliance Efforts.(Security Content Automation Protocol )
August 1, 2007... LAS VEGAS--SCAP, the Security Content Automation Protocol now in beta development at the National Security Agency, could streamline the way civilian organizations enable automated vulnerability management and compliance with regulations,...

Analysts: YouTube's Copyright Move Necessary for Survival.
August 1, 2007... YouTube has taken a big step in the past few days in its effort to stop the copyright lawsuits from piling up by announcing an intention to implement video recognition technology--video fingerprints--by the fall of 2007. The technology...

SourceLabs Upgrades Stack.
August 1, 2007... SourceLabs is rolling out the latest version of its open-source distribution of key application services for business applications, SASH 2. Seattle-based SourceLabs also announced Aug. 1 that SASH 2 features integrated support for Apache...

Mass. Gives Open XML the Official Green Light.(Extensible markup language)(Massachusetts)
August 1, 2007... The commonwealth of Massachusetts has officially thrown its weight behind Microsoft's Office Open XML format along with the OASIS Open Document Format. In July, the commonwealth added Microsoft's format, also known as Ecma-376 or Open XML,...

Metastorm Bolsters BPM Platform with Proforma Buyout.
August 1, 2007... Business process management software developer Metastorm has moved to extend its technology suite with the Aug. 1 acquisition of Proforma. The combination of the two companies could help Metastorm's customers move closer to the goal of a...

Hostway Server Migration Leaves Clients in the Dark.
August 1, 2007... A torrent of Web site postings to social networking site Digg, along with several quickly erected blogs, reflect a data center migration gone badly awry, leaving thousands of Hostway customer Web sites in the dark. Hostway Web hosting...

Start-up Helps Customers Test Security.(BreakingPoint Systems)
August 1, 2007... A Texas-based startup is shipping a new all-in-one network security testing product. BreakingPoint Systems has released BPS-1000, a network test system that permits multi-layer emulation testing at multi-gigabit speeds. With the new...

SecureWorks Offers Free Security Tools.
August 1, 2007... Researchers from SecureWorks have created two new tools to address security issues. They will be presenting the tools at the Black Hat convention, which runs July 28-Aug. 2 in Las Vegas. The first tool, known as CaffeineMonkey, was...

Mozilla to Release JavaScript Fuzzer for Firefox.
August 1, 2007... Mozilla has distilled what it's learned from pounding its Firefox browser and will release its home-brewed knowledge in a series of open-source tools, the first of which is a JavaScript fuzzer that will be released at the Black Hat conference...

IBM to Consolidate 3,900 Servers onto 33 Mainframes.(International Business Machines Corp.)
August 1, 2007... In what it touts as "the most significant transformation" of its worldwide data centers in a generation, IBM announced Aug. 1 that it will consolidate about 3,900 of its own servers onto 33 virtualized System z mainframes running Linux to save...

Microsoft to Test Ad-Supported Version of Works.(advertising)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... SEATTLE (Reuters)--Microsoft Corp. said on Wednesday it will offer a free, advertising-supported version of its basic productivity software, Microsoft Works, as part of a test program with computers manufacturers. The world's largest...

Service Outages Still Plague BlackBerry, AT&T.
August 2, 2007... For companies that pride themselves on service and reliability, AT&T and Research In Motion certainly have had their share of service interruptions, and there seems to be no end in sight. Yet another data outage Aug. 1, although brief, is...

Rutkowska Gets Last Laugh in Rootkit Cat-and-Mouse Game.(Joanna Rutkowska)
August 2, 2007... LAS VEGAS--When it comes to rootkits, nothing's undetectable, and much less so a virtualized rootkit. Or is it? At Black Hat here Aug. 1, Matasano Security launched what it hoped would be a full-body tackle of Joanna Rutkowska's "100%...

Dell Grabs ASAP Software for $340 Million.(ASAP Software Express Inc.)(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Dell is buying ASAP Software for $340 million in a move that will help boost the PC maker's software offerings, the two companies announced Aug. 2. The acquisition of ASAP will allow Dell, of Round Rock, Texas, to offer its enterprise...

Choose Your Retail Threats Carefully.
August 2, 2007... As the big Sept. 30 deadline for retailers to comply with credit card security rules, Visa and others ponder the carrot-and-stick argument. The most thankless job in corporate America today is the middle manager who is instructed to...

Another Attack on Code Signing.
August 2, 2007... I think it was around the introduction of Authenticode that Microsoft talked a lot about how security is all about trust: Who do you trust? Who do you not trust? This is a tautology of security: It has to be true in any environment that you...

What Is Online Identity Proofing and How Does it Work?
August 2, 2007... Q: Online banks and online retailers are increasing their use of identity proofing as a method of fraud prevention. What exactly is identity proofing? A: Identity proofing starts with the idea that before you give someone a password or create...

What's New in Authentication Technologies for Online Transactions?
August 2, 2007... Q: There has been a lot of activity in the area of consumer authentication lately. Oracle acquired fraud prevention vendor Bharosa in July, EMC acquired knowledge-based authentication vendor Verid in June. Last year RSA acquired device ID...

Google Talking to Cell Phone Operators, Makers: WSJ.(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... NEW YORK (Reuters)--Google Inc. has approached wireless phone operators and handset makers as it looks for a piece of the market for advertisements on cellphones, the Wall Street Journal said on its Web site on Thursday. The company, which...

Red Hat Delays Release of Linux Software.(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... BOSTON (Reuters)--Software maker Red Hat said on Thursday it delayed its August release of a version of its Linux software for personal computers that would compete with Microsoft's Windows operating system. Red Hat Global Desktop Linux...

The Rise of the Digital Page.(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Untitled PODCASTembedSWF(); The Rise of the Digital Page Technology convergence is influencing the way content is distributed and changing the roles of the solutions provider, explains Scott Tuttle, vice president for printing and imaging...

World No.3 PC Maker Lenovo's Q1 Soars Surprise 13-Fold.
August 2, 2007... SHANGHAI/HONG KONG, Aug 2 (Reuters)--Lenovo Group Ltd., the world's No. 3 PC maker, posted a much stronger-than-expected, nearly 13-fold surge in quarterly profit as strong corporate demand offset fierce competition at home. Analysts say...

iPhone Update Erases User Modifications.(Brief article)
August 2, 2007... Apple's answer to the early security threats to iPhone is apparently a lot more than just try to plug security holes--it also uncovers and erases any user modifications to the device's firmware, according to hackers. On iPhone Dev Wiki, a...

Web Networking Boom Blasts into the Workplace.
August 2, 2007... LOS ANGELES (Reuters)--After years of socializing, Facebook and MySpace mean business. The sites, which started as a way to help people stay connected with friends, in the past year have begun catering to professionals, offering networking...

States Seek Funding Help for Real ID Technology.
August 2, 2007... States hoping for federal help to comply with the government's Real ID Act will have to find other funding sources to pay for the technology. The Senate on July 26 shot down an amendment that would have earmarked $300 million a year to...

British Watchdog: Halt High-Risk E-Voting.
August 2, 2007... LONDON (Reuters)--Trials of Internet voting at elections should be halted until officials address serious concerns over costs and the risk of fraud, Britain's election watchdog said on Thursday. Britain's Electoral Commission, said in a...

Mass. Surrenders to Microsoft's Open XML Push.
August 2, 2007... The only thing that's surprising today, Aug. 2, is that the Chicago Cubs are leading, albeit by mere percentage points, the National League Central. In Massachusetts, however, the Red Sox continue to lead the American League East and the state...

Microsoft Delays Office 2008 for Mac to January.
August 2, 2007... Microsoft's delivery date for Office 2008 for Mac OS X has slipped to mid-January 2008 at the earliest, the company's Macintosh Business Unit confirmed on Aug. 2. That time frame is for the U.S. version, the company said, with...

Malware Maelstrom Coming from Russia with Love.
August 2, 2007... A resurgence of malware activity in Russia has caught the eye of security vendors. Recently, researchers at Trend Micro have found a Russian server hosting some 400 pieces of malware that may be part of a forthcoming large-scale attack,...

Web Hosting Outage Has Clients Pondering Options.
August 2, 2007... With the Software as a Service movement continues to gain momentum, the massive data center outage at ValueWeb/Hostway, which knocked thousands of customer Web sites off the Internet, has implications far beyond the hosting company's doorstep....

Time to Take Your Blue Pill.
August 2, 2007... LAS VEGAS--Joanna Rutkowska has posted her Blue Pill virtualized rootkit for free and open download here, she said during her presentation-cum-skeptics-slapdown at Black Hat on Aug. 1. Researchers at Matasano earlier in the day delivered...

Collaboration, Reporting Highlight Level Platforms Release.
August 3, 2007... p>Level Platforms is readying changes to its flagship managed services platform--including bolstering reporting tools and adding support for Microsoft Vista--that will enhance usability, security and performance, especially for MSPs looking to...

Microsoft Halves Vista Retail Price in China.(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... BEIJING (Reuters)--Microsoft Corp. has more than halved the retail price of its Vista home basic computer operating software package in China to 499 yuan ($66) from 1,521 yuan, and the price of its premium package to 899 yuan from 1,802 yuan,...

IBM Summer Interns Face Fierce Competition.(International Business Machines Corp.)
August 3, 2007... IBM internships: If there is one word that could be used to sum up summer internships at IBM, it would be "competitive." For some, this is a dream-come-true, for others it is just draining. Just ask Kenneth Bratland, a three-time IBM...

A Public-Private Partnership on the Airwaves.
August 3, 2007... Kentucky may be leading the nation in technology. At least, it has become the most improved state from 2004 to 2007, where its rank leapt from No. 44 to fourth in a nationwide study to evaluate public access to state and federal services....

IBM to Acquire Data Management Specialist.(International Business Machines Corp. and Princeton Softech)(Brief article)
August 3, 2007... IBM is buying Princeton Softech, a privately held company specializing in data archiving, test data management, data privacy, and data classification and discovery software. The financial details of the deal, which was announced Aug. 3,...

ComScore: Quarterly E-Commerce Sales Hit $47.5 Billion.
August 3, 2007... E-commerce spending in the United States for this year's second quarter jumped 19 percent, to $47.5 billion, compared with last year's identical quarter, according to a statement released this week from ComScore. If you take travel out of...

Ingrian 60-Day PCI Service a Frightening Sign.(Ingrian Networks)(Payment Card Industry)
August 3, 2007... Ingrian Networks on July 31 introduced a 60-day program for compliance that puts together PCI consulting and software "in order to bring customers into compliance in 60 days or less." Yes, Virginia, there is a devil. In this case, the...

Analysts: Hostway Failed to Properly Plan Server Migration.
August 3, 2007... With a handful of customers still offline on the afternoon of Aug. 3 after service outages caused by a data center migration snafu, executives at Hostway are not yet ready for a Monday morning quarterbacking session. But industry pundits...

Undercover 'Frontline' Reporter Outed, Flees from Defcon.(Michelle Madigan)
August 3, 2007... LAS VEGAS -- The Defcon hackers convention has been infiltrated. NBC Frontline sent at least one undercover reporter to pose as a normal show attendee on the first day of the show, Aug. 3. The reporter came with a hidden camera in her purse...

Websense to Unveil Web 2.0 Threat Detection at Defcon.
August 3, 2007... San Diego-based security vendor Websense has deployed what it calls "HoneyJax" across the Internet that attempt to seek out malware, phishing kits and other threats before they snare Web surfers. Websense Vice President of Security Research...

Is the Web 2.0 Bubble Set to Burst?
August 3, 2007... In recent months, an increasing number of technology analysts and pundits have started to sound the alarm that we are on the cusp of another technology bubble burst--in this case, the Web 2.0 bubble. If you expect me to disagree with these...

ICANN Takes a Lick at Domain Tasting.(Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers)(Viewpoint essay)
August 5, 2007... I recently became aware of a report by ICANN's staff called "GNSO Issues Report on Domain Tasting" for the At-Large Advisory Committee for an Issues Report on Domain Tasting. Domain tasting, as defined by the report itself, is:'a'...

IBM Information Server Blade To Aid Data Integration.
August 6, 2007... IBM dubbed it the IBM Information Server Blade. It is a marriage of IBM's Blade Server technology and data management software in a bid to offer customers a heterogeneous data integration platform and aimed at reducing the cost and...

F5 Networks Snaps Up Acopia File Virtualization.
August 6, 2007... F5 Networks on Aug. 6 announced its intent to acquire Acopia Networks for $210 million in cash, thus snatching up the last independent file virtualization vendor left standing. Privately held Acopia will help to propel F5 Networks further...

2 Screws, 1 Plastic Cover, How Many Airports Infiltrated?
August 6, 2007... LAS VEGAS--Sections of our airports are being secured by two screws and a plastic cover. You can press your eyeballs into retina scanners, you can walk up to iris scanners, you can press your hand (or somebody with a meat cleaver can press...

Survey: Cost of Cybercrime Reaches $7 Billion.
August 6, 2007... A new study has put a price tag of more than $7 billion on the financial suffering experienced by victims of Internet fraud and attacks. That is how much Consumer Report's 2007 "State of the Net" survey projects U.S. consumers have lost...

More Parties Join Google Copyright Lawsuit.(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... NEW YORK (Reuters)--English soccer's Premier League Ltd and music publisher Bourne & Co said on Monday that eight more parties have joined their lawsuit charging Google and its YouTube online service with deliberately encouraging copyright...

Shuttleworth: Microsoft Fracturing the Open-Source Community.
August 6, 2007... Microsoft has succeeded in fracturing the Linux and open-source community with the patent indemnity agreements it has entered into with several prominent vendors, Ubuntu leader and Canonical CEO Mark Shuttleworth told eWEEK. The strategy...

Lightweight Software Hits the Enterprise.(Atlassian Software Systems )(Company overview)
August 6, 2007... Lightweight software is emerging in the enterprise, and if Atlassian Software Systems has its way, this is only the beginning. First off, what is lightweight software? Well, there are lots of things, from lightweight development frameworks...

Passwords and Policy: An Oxymoron?(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... Untitled PODCASTembedSWF(); Passwords and Policy: An Oxymoron? Policies as they apply to password security seems to be an oxymoron. Bill Carey of Siber Systems explains how to create better password policies with Mike Vizard in this IT...

Mainsoft Enables .Net, Java Interoperability.
August 6, 2007... Mainsoft, which specializes in .Net and Java interoperability, is helping organizations integrate their .Net-based environments with popular Java-based technologies such as IBM's WebSphere. Mainsoft is announcing Aug. 6 that its software is...

Windows Vista Readiness Assessment.(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... EVIDEOembedSWF(); Sponsored by: Windows Vista Readiness Assessment A Windows Vista migration introduces new and unique challenges to any IT organization. Because the OS is robust with updated security and productivity-enhancement features,...

Application Compatibility.(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... EVIDEOembedSWF(); Sponsored by: Application Compatibility Before a Windows Vista migration begins, companies should use tools such as the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit to collect inventory information and details about...

How To Keep Your Data Protected.(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... Untitled PODCASTembedSWF(); How To Keep Your Data Protected Miklos Sandorfi, Chief Technology Officer for Sepaton, tells David Strom in this Channel Chat podcast about new data backup strategies in the world after tape backup systems. ...

Democratic Candidates See the Light: the Internet.
August 6, 2007... CHICAGO (Reuters)--Every U.S. presidential candidate has a Web site, of course, but when the top Democratic hopefuls were asked on Saturday whether they would appoint a White House blogger if elected, all of them said yes. The candidates'...

Job Hunters Hire Experts to Clean Up Online Image.
August 6, 2007... NEW YORK (Reuters Life!)--Job hunters perfecting their resumes for that dream job are being urged to also polish their online profile--and clean it up if needs be, with a new breed of companies emerging to help mold Internet images. ...

Samsung to Boost Chip Production After Disruption.
August 6, 2007... KIHEUNG, South Korea (Reuters)--Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. said on Monday it would crank up production to meet its monthly targets after a chip plant power outage last week as it moved to calm fears over chip supplies. Samsung's...

Virtual Appliances: A New Paradigm.(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... Untitled PODCASTembedSWF(); Virtual Appliances: A New Paradigm Virtual appliances offer a new paradigm for the development, deployment and management of software. Host: Sal Salamone Length: 00:05:16 Subscribe to this podcast...

Rolling Out Windows Vista and Office 2007 Together.(Brief article)
August 6, 2007... EVIDEOembedSWF(); Sponsored by: Rolling Out Windows Vista and Office 2007 Together Many organizations are planning to migrate to Windows Vista and Office 2007 over the course of time. Both require many labor intensive steps to prep for the...

BMC Builds Sales Momentum in First Quarter.
August 7, 2007... BMC Software continued to build on its momentum in its first fiscal quarter of 2008 by posting 7 percent revenues gains to $385 million and net income of $57 million. The Houston-based software company, building on its competitive lead in...

Fedora 7 Chosen as LiveContent CD Platform.(Creative Commons)
August 7, 2007... The Fedora 7 Linux distribution has been chosen as the platform for the Creative Commons LiveContent CD, an initiative to showcase free, open-source software and Creative Commons-licensed multimedia content. The LiveContent CD is the result...

Symantec Aims to Automate Electronic Evidence Collection.
August 7, 2007... Symantec announced Aug. 6 a comprehensive e-discovery initiative featuring two e-discovery connectors for users of Symantec Enterprise Vault Discovery Accelerator that provide tighter integration with third-party case management, review and...

$1.5B Ruling Against Microsoft Overturned.
August 7, 2007... SEATTLE--A U.S. judge on Aug. 6 threw out a record $1.5 billion verdict against Microsoft, ruling the world's largest software maker had not infringed on audio technology patents held by France's Alcatel-Lucent. Microsoft said the reversal...

Oracle Eyes the ALM Market.(Application Lifecycle Management )
August 7, 2007... REDWOOD SHORES, Calif.--Oracle is planning to enter the application lifecycle management space, taking on the likes of IBM Rational, Microsoft, Borland Software and Serena Software in delivering tools that empower enterprise developers to more...

$22M Worth of CDC Equipment Disappears.(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
August 7, 2007... The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports it cannot account for $22 million worth of computers and other equipment, according to a July 12 story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Thievery is suspected behind some of the...

IBM, Novell Unite to Grab More of App Server Market.
August 7, 2007... SAN FRANCISCO--IBM and Novell have joined forces to capture a larger piece of the growing open-source application server market in a deal that will see Novell deliver and support WebSphere Application Server Community Edition as part of SUSE...

Court Says Qualcomm Waived Right to Patent.
August 7, 2007... NEW YORK (Reuters)--A federal judge has ruled that Qualcomm Inc. waived its rights to enforce two technology patents asserted against rival chip maker Broadcom Corp. by concealing documents and patents, the companies said on Tuesday. ...

Storage Capacity and Planning Come Together.(Brief article)
August 7, 2007... Untitled PODCASTembedSWF(); Storage Capacity and Planning Come Together Many storage administrators are stuck in the so-called peanut butter process, spreading storage all over the enterprise, but Monosphere might have some answers to...

Lenovo Says in Talks to Buy Packard Bell.(Brief article)
August 7, 2007... NEW YORK (Reuters)--Lenovo Group Ltd., the world's third-largest maker of personal computers, said on Tuesday it is in talks to buy European personal computer maker Packard Bell BV through an independent third party. While no definitive...

Schwartz: Niagara 2 Is a General-Purpose Chip.(Jonathan Schwartz)
August 7, 2007... MENLO PARK, Calif.--Now that Sun Microsystems has unveiled what it says is the world's fastest microprocessor the company is looking for an audience to buy this multicore, multithreaded chip. For Jonathan Schwartz, Sun's CEO and president,...

Apple Rolls Out iMacs, Plus Digital and Productivity Suites.
August 7, 2007... CUPERTINO, Calif.--Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple, announced a total refresh for the iMac all-in-one desktop computer line, plus "completely new versions" of Apple's iLife and iWork application suites, the latter gaining Numbers, a new spreadsheet...

Rackable Upgrades Its Eco-Friendly Storage Systems.(Rackable Systems)
August 7, 2007... SAN FRANCISCO--Rackable Systems, which makes high-density storage servers with basic software features for large-scale data centers, Aug. 7 launched a new generation of high-performance clustered storage appliances. Rackable's new...